David Morrell says he’s ready to show the improvements he’s made in his game for his 10-round light heavyweight clash against Imam Khataev next month on DAZN PPV on July 12th at the Louis Armstrong Stadium in New York.
Morrell (11-1, 9 KOs) lost for the first time last February against the more experienced David Benavidez in a fight that he could have won with the proper adjustments. In his match against the 2020 Olympian Khataev (10-0, 9 KOs), Morrell has an opponent who is every bit as skilled, but even more powerful.
“It’s a good opportunity to come back to the ring. I feel ready for July 12th. I’m focused for this big moment,” said David Morrell to Fighthype about his clash against Imam Khataev next month in Queens, New York.
It’s great for Morrell that he’s been added to Turki Alalshikh’s July 12th card in Queens, but it also could be a disaster if he loses. He’s facing what some fans have dubbed as the ‘next Artur Beterbiev’ in Khataev, and he’s got to fight a lot better than he did in his loss to David Benavidez to get the win.
Morrell’s Game Improvements
“I learned a lot from the fight. I gained a lot of experience. Going into the rematch, I wouldn’t change much. Just a couple of little adjustments, and I’ll be confident going into a rematch,” said Morrell about his loss to David Benavidez.
We’ll see if Morrell learned from his loss to Benavidez, because the mistakes he made in that fight, he’d made in his previous one against Radivoje Kalajdzic. Morrell doesn’t throw enough punches at 175 to produce knockouts, and he’s going to have problems in that fight against Khataev if he doesn’t make adjustments.
“I know he has an aggressive style. He packs a punch from what I can see, and he has an extensive amateur background. So, I’ve studied him and know him well. I know I’ve got to be well-prepared,” said Morrell about his opponent, Imam Khataev.
Khataev’s Power, Stamina
As we saw in Khataev’s fight against Durval Elias Palacio last March, he has stamina problems. Khataev doesn’t look so great taking heavy shots in return, and was pretty beaten up in this fight by the non-contender Palacio.
Obviously, Khataev’s promoters selected Palacio, believing he would be a sure-thing win, but they didn’t figure on him dishing out a lot of punishment on their fighter. If Morrell can take Khataev into the deeper rounds, he’ll stop him because he hits a lot harder and has far more talent.
Morrell’s Return Statement
“I’m back. I put on a good performance against Benavidez, and I’m working just as hard to put on a great performance on July 12th and let the world know he’s back,” said Morrell.
The way Morrell fought in his last two fights against David Morrell and Radivoje Kalajdzic might not be good enough for him to beat Khataev. Morrell doesn’t throw enough punches since moving up to 175 to win rounds, and definitely not to score knockouts.
The single power shots that were producing knockouts for him at 168 aren’t doing the job at light heavyweight. He’s got to be more focused on increasing his output for the Khataev fight, because he’ll be outworked just like he was in his loss to Benavidez.
